South Park: Tortured Souls
by deactivated-spfan
Summary: After a ritual gone wrong a group of students at South Park High find themselves sucked in an alternate dimension, trapped in what remains of South Park Elementary by the angry spirit of a girl who died there years ago. Will they have what it takes to escape, or are they fated to suffer there for eternity?
1. Prolouge

**This is an old fanfic written be a preteen. Have fun.**

 **South Park is a cool show by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Corpse Party anime belongs to Asread studios. This was inspired by some awesome art by Beansofyuki on Tumblr.**

 **There's gore.**

* * *

 _South Park: Tortured Souls- Prolouge_

Rain hammered down on the wooden roof of the elementary school, thunder clouds rolling across the sky, emitting angry growls and spontaneous flashes of light. The beings inside the little building took no notice of the muffled thunder and wind beating against the oak panelling, most of them were too focused on their own cries of fear to even acknowledge the vicious storm.  
Four children had been laid side by side, each struggling against their binds, writhing and sobbing on the wooden flooring. Tight blindfolds obscured their vision, the stench of death filling up their senses.  
A new sound entered the room, a brown haired girl furthest from the door stilled, listening to the approaching footsteps with interest. They stopped just beside her, staying there for a minute before returning to the door frame.  
The little boy closest to the door increased his struggling when something metallic was pressed against the roof of his mouth.  
"No, please don't!"  
High pitched shrieks were quickly cut off by thin fingers grabbing his tongue, sharp blades cut into the muscle and hacked away untill his tongue could be easily yanked out. Scissors stabbed into his mouth again, and again, and again until his assailant was satisfied, blood splashing onto their weapon, their hands, the little red haired girl tied up beside the victim.  
The girl screamed as warm liquid dripped onto her cheek, the figure stood above her with scissors raised before bringing them down into her eye.  
"No! I don't want to die!"  
"Please stop!"  
" _Help!_ "  
The screams continued, but so did the scissors, slicing, cutting, hacking, stabbing away at the children.  
Finally the only sound that filled the room was something slowly being pulled away inside one of the children's mouths, accompanied by heavy breathing.  
The brown haired girl sat panting in one corner of the room, crimson liquid and chunks of flesh caked her arms and clung to her dress. Slowly her head lifted to face the door, dull blue eyes fell upon the man standing there, and she smiled.

...

"So, tell me what's been going on between you and Stan?"  
Wendy looked up from her textbook in surprise before frowning at her blond friend,  
"What do you mean?"  
Bebe smirked, leaning towards Wendy with a dark expression,  
"Wendy and Stan.."  
Pressing her hands against the noirettes chest she began to laugh,  
"..doing stuff like _this!_ "  
Instantly Wendy's cheeks flushed pink, blue eyes widened in surprise as Bebe groped at her chest.  
"And of course stuff like _this!_ "  
Her hands moved away, instead puckering her lips at the noirette and moving their faces together.  
Thinking fast Wendy slammed her textbook into her friends face, Bebe reeled backwards and dropped onto the bed.  
"As if we'd do that."  
Wendy narrowed her eyes at the blond playing dead on her duvet, placing her book on the bedside table and jabbing Bebe's side.  
One bright blue eye opened, still shining with amusement,  
"Don't be so boring!"  
Bebe chuckled, sitting up so she could put her arm around Wendy,  
"Same goes for Stan. You're so attractive I don't see how he can restrain himself, I know I wouldn't!"  
She made another dive for Wendy's breasts, earning herself another smack over the head, fortunately for her it was only a pillow slamming into her face this time.  
" _Why are you even in my bed?!_ "  
Wendy snapped, crossing her arms across her chest as Bebe rubbed the area on her forehead the pillow had been directed at.  
"I already put down a mattress for you." The noirette turned to indicate the bed she'd laid out earlier, Bebe used this as an opportunity to reach out and playfully squeeze her friends butt. Wendy whipped around with pillow in hand but the blond girl had already retreated on to the mattress, her face a picture of innocence.  
"Quit it!"  
Wendy demanded, placing both hands firmly on her hips. Bebe tossed blond curls over her shoulder and smiled sweetly,  
"Quit what?"  
"You just touched my butt"  
"Wendy, are you sexually frustrated; by any chance?"  
The blond girl giggled at her friends shocked reaction,  
"Why don't you go ahead and ask Stan Marsh for a 'favor' at tomorrows culture festival?"  
She gave her a suggestive wink, flinching when Wendy raised the pillow above her head, the noirettes face had turned scarlet with embarrassment. Wendy took a deep breath and lowered her weapon, reaching up to turn off the light switch,  
"Good _night_!"

...

A clock moved steadily forward, it's little red hand counting seconds was the only sound in Kyle's bedroom. It had long since gone dark outside but the red head was still wide awake, swiping lazily through his camera roll at todays photos. Most of them consisted of the preparations for tomorrows festival but he stopped to smile at a group picture he'd taken of his friends, apple green eyes scanning warmly over each face.  
The image disappeared suddenly, replaced by Butter's slightly surprised contact photo, 'INCOMING CALL' displayed in big letters below it. Kyle tapped the answer button and rested the device against his ear,  
"Yes?"  
"Hello is this Kyle Brovloski? This is the class president speaking."  
An exaggerated high pitched voice came through the speaker, Kyle rolled his eyes and sat up,  
"Hi Butters."  
He heard his blond friend giggle on the other end of the line,  
"Aw, you got me!"  
"I have your number saved on my phone you know."  
"Oh yeah"  
Butters continued to giggle a couple moments longer,  
"I just thought I'd wish you luck with tomorrow's festival."  
Kyle made a small noise to indicate thanks, absently running a hand through his curls he spoke,  
"Tomorrow's your last day right?"  
For a minute there was silence on Butter's end of the line, the red head could almost feel his friends sadness through his mobile.  
"Yeah.. My family moves to the new town on Friday."  
Kyle's brow creased slightly, picking up on the uncertainty in his blond friends tone.  
"You'll be fine" Kyle reassured him, "The kids at your transfer school will love you, and don't forget you can call me and the guys anytime."  
"Okay"  
Butter's voice was a little more confident after that,  
"I just really don't want anything to change, I've lived in South Park my whole life and I'm really going to miss everyone."  
"Even Craig?"  
Kyle smiled when he heard Butters laugh,  
"Yeah, maybe even Craig."  
There was silence again for a couple of seconds, again Kyle was the one to break it,  
"I'm going to hang up now, unlike you I need to get some homework done for Friday."  
"Okay, thanks Kyle for talking with me!"  
"No problem"  
He pressed the little red button to end the call, the picture of his friends appearing on the screen again. Green eyes settled on the face of the blond boy he'd just been talking with and frowned sadly, he was going to miss him.

...

Heavy snow boots trudged down South Parks main street, Craig's hands sunk deep into his trouser pockets to shield them from the biting cold this town's wind always seemed to carry. A familiar shock of blond hair in the shop window he was passing caught his attention. Changing his course the raven haired boy stepped into the warm interior of Tweek Bros Coffee, the little gold coloured bell above his head jingled as he did so and caught the attention of the boy behind the counter.  
" _Oh J-Jesus a customer!_ "  
Fumbling to put away the book he'd been staring into Tweek managed to knock over a jar of plastic spoons and drop the thick tome on his foot. Craig sighed and walked over to his friend, leaning down to gather up the plastic cutlery while Tweek hopped up and down whilst clutching his wounded foot.  
"You're working late"  
Craig stated, placing the spoons back in their rightful place and ruffling the blonds hair. By now Tweek had recovered and craned his neck to see other boys face,  
"Thanks Craig"  
He smiled shyly, laying his book back on the counter,  
"So, c-can I get you a-anything..?"  
Dark blue eyes travelled down to the book, ignoring Tweek's question he picked it up and turned it over, searching for a non existent title on the leather bound book.  
"You studying?"  
Tweek shook his head, reaching out to grab a sheet of paper as it slipped from between the pages,  
"Y-you know how we're all going to see Butters off after t-the festival tomorrow, I thought we should all do something special f-for him to remember us by."  
Craig nodded, watching as Tweek turned the seemingly blank sheet of paper over to look at the outline of a paper doll,  
"What's that?"  
"A good luck charm. I-it'll make sure we all stay g-good friends forever."  
A small smile found it's way on to the raven haired boy's face, it was very Tweek to think of something like that. Placing the book back on the counter he turned his head, eyes settling on the bar opposite Tweek's family shop.  
"Wanna go get drinks after you finish in here?"  
Tweek glanced up from placing the paper back in to the book, contemplating the tall boy in front of him. He smiled,  
"Maybe.."


	2. Chapter 1

_South Park: Tortured Souls- Chapter 1_

The storm continued into the next day, but despite the random bursts of rain the schools festival was a huge success. As the sun sunk behind dark grey clouds all the students staying behind to clean up retreated into an upper floor classroom. Seven shapes sat round the dim flickering of a candle, the desks and chairs piled in corners of the room to make space for their little gathering.  
Tweek sat just underneath the blackboard, positioned so he could address all six other members of their party, on his lap lay open a thick leather-bound book, his hazel eyes drifting over the page as he spoke. His voice was clear and rehearsed, his stuttering all but vanished the more he got in to the story.  
"It happened on a rainy d-day after school, just like this one...  
A teacher lost his footing, fell down the stairs and died. The principal treated the school as if it were her o-own child, but the misfortune continued..  
After some students at the elementary school went missing it was decided the school would be closed down, and finally the principle snapped. On the closing day of the school s-she climbed on to the rooftop.. And committed suicide!"  
Around him his companions gasped, Bebe pressed herself closer to Wendy's side, gripping her friends shoulder out of nervousness. To their right Stan and Kyle listened intently to the story, Butters clinging to Stan's arm, terrified eyes glued to Tweek.  
"Where we are now, is where the cursed South Park Elementary once stood."  
"S-seriously?"  
Butters squeaked nervously, watching Tweek's face as he waited for an answer that didn't come. On Tweek's right Craig rolled his eyes, head slumped in his hands, he'd heard this one before.  
Pleased with the reactions from most of his friends Tweek continued,  
"But the teacher that fell down the stairs had no idea he'd died on that day, t-they say that on rainy days after school he still roams the hallways.."  
Hazel eyes moved quickly up to the clock and Tweek's face became pale,  
"Yes.. Right around this time."  
Stan let out an involuntarily gasp of horror, covering his mouth a moment later as his cheeks began to turn red. Beside him Wendy giggled,  
"Something wrong Stan?"  
The dark haired boy shook his head,  
"No, b-but isn't it about time we head home..?"  
The red in his cheeks darkened when his question led to chuckles from both Craig and his best friend.  
"Let him continue, you can leave if you want"  
Kyle grinned, playfully elbowing Stan.  
"Whatever"  
Stan pouted, crossing his arms across his chest but making no further comments.  
"Just get it over with"  
Prompted Craig, unable to hold back a yawn as he adjusted his position, leaning back against the classroom wall. Tweek smiled and nodded,  
"So, whenever the teacher appears he is always accompanied by a sudden blackout. From outside you'll hear it,  
'Knock Knock'  
Then then door slowly opens..."  
Tweek fell into a hushed whisper, some of his companions now had to lean forward to hear him.  
"A pale face will appear in the doorframe, 'Is anyone still here?'  
And then-"  
But no one got to hear what happens next, Tweek fell silent when two loud knocks drummed against the classroom door. All seven heads turned to stare wide eyed at the wood, no one spoke.  
After a couple of seconds silence, punctuated only by steady breaths from the students Kyle turned himself to face the door.  
"Someone just knocked right?"  
"M-maybe it was just the wind!"  
Butters was trembling now, not taking his eyes off the door handle.  
Then it happened again. Two loud knocks landed on the wood and the students around the candle screamed when the small flame disappeared, plunging them into pitch blackness.  
"Tweek, stop screwing around!"  
Stan yelled in the general direction he thought the blond was,  
"I-it's not m-me!"  
Tweek defended himself, fear obvious in his shaking voice.  
"I can't see the candle."  
Bebe complained from somewhere across the circle.  
"Where's the light switch?"  
Wendy's voice demanded, standing up so she could search for their way out of the darkness.  
Before anyone else could speak the door handle turned, squeaking on it's hinges as the wood opened a crack. Now all of the students were on their feet, bunching together as dark fingers curled round the edge of the door, a deep voice floated through the gap between the wood and the wall.  
"Is anyone still here..?"  
The classroom erupted into shrieks.  
A moment later the lights turned on, illuminating the room with their florescent white glow. Laughter cut through the screams, but not the terrifying laughter the students were expecting. The deep chuckling came from one of the few black attendees of their high school.  
" _Token._."  
Craig growled at his friend, ice blue eyes channeling only anger at the school's teaching assistant still laughing on the other side of the classroom. Through the door appeared another figure, Clyde was also giggling and looking over his classmates with a bemused expression.  
"Did we surprise you?"  
Craig had Tweek hoisted over his shoulder, holding the blonds tiny figure out of harms way. Stan and Kyle, having previously had their arms around each other quickly broke away and shuffled their feet nervously. Bebe was being shoved away after using the blackout as an opportunity to attempt a grab at Wendy's chest, and Butters stood in the centre of the room quietly trying not to hyperventilate.  
"How long are you guys going to stay here? I told everyone to clean up after the festival and leave."  
Token asked them while Stan moved to calm Butters down, Clyde trotted towards Craig carrying a large umbrella.  
"You can probably put him down now."  
The brown haired boy smirked, Craig glared back, placing Tweek's feet back on the panelled flooring. The blond was still in shock.  
"Why are you here?"  
Craig demanded, ruffling Tweek's hair to pull him out of his stupor. Clyde exaggerated a hurt expression,  
"I only came to offer you guys this umbrella, and you greet me with the coldness I was trying to save you from."  
The brunette wiped away fake tears and sniffed, Craig wasn't convinced by his theatrics,  
"Harsh bro. Hash."  
"Thank y-you Clyde."  
Having returned to his regular self Tweek thanked his friend, giving him a wide smile before glancing up at Token.  
"Um, i-is it okay if we do o-one last thing?"  
Token considered for a minute before nodding,  
"As long as it doesn't take too long."  
Tweek hurried over to the book he'd dropped, leafing through the pages until he found what he was looking for. The others turned to look at the paper doll he'd produced from between the pages,  
"The Ever After Charm"  
Tweek announced, returning to his place by the blackboard. Craig followed, standing next to him and observing the paper figure with interest, curious to know how the tacky charm his friend had created was supposed to work. For the second time that evening everyone gathered in a circle while Tweek explained,  
"If we perform this spell then no matter how far apart we are, we will always be friends."  
He gave Butters a meaningful glance, the yellow haired boy blushed as shuffled his feet bashfully when he felt all eyes turn to him.  
"It's going to get really lonely without you."  
Bebe told him, laying a hand on his shoulder.  
"You're not moving too far away right? We'll make sure to come and visit you when winter break comes."  
Kyle announced, followed by a chorus of 'Yeah' from the others.  
Tears began to well in Butters eyes,  
"Gosh you guys"  
He sniffed and tears made their way down his cheeks, across the circle Clyde joined him, snivelling considerably louder than his blond friend.  
Tweek gave Butters a quick hug, using his sleeve to dry his friends cheeks,  
"We'll always be friends."  
Butters nodded,  
"Everyone, thanks. I'm so happy that I met you all. I promise I'll never forget about you guys."  
Kyle pulled his phone out of his pocket and turned it on,  
"Think you can smile for me?"  
The redhead grinned at Butters. Wiping his sleeve across his face one final time Butters smiled up at Kyle.  
There was a quiet click as the camera did it's job, Kyle slipped the device back into his pocket and returned to his place in the circle.  
"No group photo?"  
Clyde pouted, Kyle smirked and shook his head,  
"I took one yesterday."  
"Aw, please! After this?"  
"Fine."  
Kyle submitted, wanting to avoid Clyde crying again. Once there was silence again Tweek held the paper doll out in the middle of the circle,  
"In order f-for this to work we must all grab onto the doll and repeat 'Spirits we beg of you' once for each person in the g-group then once more f-for the spirit we're praying to."  
Hazel eyes did a quick sweep of the circle and the others shuffled forward to place their fingers on the paper.  
"T-that's ten times in total, no more and no less."  
"What happens if we mess up?"  
Stan asked nervously, Tweek looked at him, his eyes suddenly serious,  
"Then you risk angering them."  
The black haired boy didn't even bother to ask who he might be angering, no matter how good an actor the coffee-addict was the look Tweek was giving him had already told him enough.  
Looking back at the doll Tweek closed his eyes,  
"O-okay, start chanting now."  
There was silence in the classroom for a minute as the students repeated the words in their head. Clyde was the first to open his eyes,  
"Is everybody done?"  
A second later most of the others opened their eyes and nodded before looking at Tweek for instructions,  
"N-now we all need pull on t-the doll until i-it rips."  
His grip tightened on the paper limb he was holding, the fingers brushing against his did the same,  
"Three,  
Two,  
One,  
 _Pull!_ "  
The paper came apart, but any tearing sound it would have made was covered by a bright flash of lightning accompanied by the rumble of thunder.  
Stan yelped in surprise, Kyle laughed, Stan elbowed his ribs. Wendy turned the scrap of paper over in her hand, looking for something on the sheet of white,  
"So what do we do with this?"  
"We keep it, it's supposed to signify friendship."  
Craig answered, repeating what Tweek had told him about the charm.  
"It's wonderful, I'll treasure mine forever."  
Bebe cooed, holding her piece to her chest.  
Tokens' eyes moved to the wall clock,  
"This was a really nice thing to do but we better get going, our parents will start to worry."  
Before anyone could object there was another rumble, but this time it didn't come from the clouds. The ground beneath their feet began to tremble, stacks of chairs rattled and toppled over.  
"Earthquake!"  
Tweek shrieked, latching onto Craig's arm for support. Clyde stumbled, bumping into Stan,  
"Like _this_ , in Colorado!?"  
"Everyone under the desks!"  
Token commanded, wrapping his arms around Butters to stop him falling over.  
But as quickly as the shaking had begun it was gone.  
Wendy brushed dust from her shoulders, looking round the classroom warily,  
"Is it over?"  
"What the heck was that?"  
Craig grumbled, straightening his back after being curled over Tweek.  
"Alien spaceship landing?"  
Stan suggested jokingly, but no one laughed. No one had time to because the floor of the classroom split open, the floor crumbling away as the students fell into the black nothingness below.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:Wendy's P.O.V

A bright flash of lightning just outside the window was what woke Wendy, upon opening her eyes she glanced hurriedly around the room. She found herself lying on a rotting wooden floor with something damp seeping between her fingers. Jolting upright she snatched her hand out of a puddle, it's source being a leak in the wood above her head.  
"Where am I..?"  
Lowering her hand the noirettes fingers brushed against a small object, glancing down Wendy noticed her ID wallet sitting in another puddle. With a small sigh she picked it up and patted it dry on her sleeve, turning it over a slip of paper fell from the purple leather wallet, landing on Wendys skirt.  
"Oh"  
She mumbled, opening the wallet and tucking it back in. Why she had it was still a little hazy, but some impulse was telling her that paper needed to be kept safe. Wendy slid the ID wallet into her skirt pocket and looked at the mess surrounding her.  
Around Wendy was a dilapidated classroom, desks had been overturned and shoved into a corner, broken chairs lay scattered around, certainly not the classroom she'd been in earlier.  
 _Wait._  
 _We did the Ever After Charm and then.._  
"Stan? Bebe? Guys?!"  
Wendy jumped to her feet, her left leg giving way a moment later.  
 _Ow, I must have hurt it when I.. fell?_  
Holding her knee Wendy's gaze found Bebe lying on the opposite side of of the classroom,  
"Bebe!"  
She called out, relieved to see her friend nearby. The blond girl stirred, rolling onto her back and sitting up.  
"Hm? Is it lunch yet?"  
Bebe yawned, rubbing her eyes drowsily, Wendy rolled her eyes and stumbled over to her.  
"Is that all you think about?"  
Coming out of her dizzy state Bebe looked at Wendy, then the classroom, her blue eyes becoming steadily more confused.  
"Where are we?"  
"I don't know" The noirette replied, looking at one of the less damaged chairs, "but all the furniture is so small.. I think we're in an elementary school."  
"Looks that way"  
Getting to her feet Bebe brushed dirt from her skirt,  
"and the others must be here too. Have you seen them yet?"  
Wendy frowned and shook her head,  
"I just woke up, you're the only other person in here as far as I can tell."  
"Then they must have all woken up before us."  
Bebe announced, Wendy wasn't convinced. Standing up Wendy leant most of her weight on her right, Bebe noticed the difference in her friends posture immediately.  
"You're hurt!"  
She exclaimed, rushing to support her other side.  
"I'm fine, I think it's just sprained."  
Wendy did her best to smile, this seemed to reassure Bebe who loosed her grip on Wendy's waist.  
"We'll get outside and I'll find something to treat you with, wait there!"  
Bebe trotted over to the window, trying to pull it open. Disobeying Bebe's order Wendy limped to her friends side and pulled with her, but the window didn't budge.  
"No use.." Wendy sighed, leaning against the windowsill. She watched Bebe pull her cellphone from her pocket and dial, the bright pink cell simply buzzed for a moment.  
"Damn it!"  
The blond hissed quietly.  
"No signal?" Wendy asked, Bebe nodded. Reaching for her phone Wendy checked the screen only to find hers didn't have signal either. Grumbling unhappily Bebe began to walk around the classroom, cellphone extended above her head in a search for phone signal.  
Turning her head Wendy stared out the window, beyond the filth covering the glass the noirette could make out nothing but blackness.  
 _Where are we... And why?_  
A high pitched giggle cut through the air, Wendy turned quickly, looking for the source of the laugh.  
"Did you hear that?"  
"Hear what?"  
Having given up her search Bebe returned to Wendy's side.  
"Someone laughed just now"  
"I didn't hear anything."  
Bebe frowned, her eyes sweeping the classroom, a second later her face broke into a smile,  
"Maybe it was one of the others! Lets go find them."  
Leaning on her friends shoulder Wendy was able to walk out of the classroom, the corridor they entered didn't look in any better state than the classroom. Multiple floorboards were missing and more where in varying states of decay, the walls were oozing mould and either side of the corridor faded into darkness.  
"Creepy.."  
Wendy heard Bebe whisper, and she silently agreed.  
"Lets go left, the floor looks more stable that way."  
"Okay"  
Bebe nodded, leading them down the dim corridor. The doors they passed usually led into more classrooms, some were supply closets and others were locked. Bebe paused to tug at one of the locked doors and allow Wendy to catch her breath. Over the rattling the handle was making Wendy picked up on another sound.  
 _Footsteps?_  
Glancing over her shoulder Wendy watched as the figure of a little girl walked slowly from the darkness and stopped, her eyes shadowed by locks of thick brown hair. Wendy opened her mouth to speak, and the child's head tilted to reveal inky black eyes. A sudden fear welled in the pit of Wendy's stomach, crawling up to choke away any words she tried to form. The child's mouth parted, thick red liquid oozing from between her lips.  
Wendy couldn't move anymore, all she could do was tremble as whatever it was continued to stare at her, blood spilling down it's pale green dress and creating a puddle around it's feet.

...

"-ndy? Wendy!"  
Opening her eyes Wendy was greeted with Bebe's worried expression above her,  
"..What?"  
"Don't do that!"  
Bebe scolded, lightly tugging Wendy to her feet. Dizzily Wendy complied, holding her pounding forehead she glanced at the spot the child had been standing,  
"Do what?"  
"You just collapsed, did your leg get worse?"  
"Huh? No, I just.."  
Wendy trailed off, not really sure what what just happened. There was no trace of the scene she'd just witnessed, no blood, and even more alarmingly no girl.  
 _What was that?_  
"Well, I don't think anyone else is in here.."  
Wendy turned to see Bebe grinning at her, the blonde wrapped her arms around Wendy and giggled, ".. it's just me and Wendy, alone together!"  
Seeing her friends enthusiasm Wendy allowed herself a small smile,  
"Yeah but that doesn't mean we shouldn't keep looking."  
"Hmm, I guess"  
Bebe sighed and laced her fingers with Wendy's, keeping her close as they continued to the end of the hall. Wendy turned to walk down the stairs but Bebe pulled her back a little and Wendy noticed the blondes cheeks were tinted red.  
"Um, you carry tampons around right?"  
Wendy blinked,  
"Uh yeah"  
Bebe nodded her head in the direction if the bathroom at the top if the staircase and bit her lip,  
"Can I..?"  
"Oh, sure"  
Wendy chuckled and handed one of the sanitary items to Bebe, after a quick 'Thanks' the blonde disappeared into one of the few stalls still intact. Leaning back against the wall Wendy stared out of another darkened window, maybe the shadows moving out there were trees but even if they were it didn't give her any more information regarding where they were, or any comfort for her steadily building nerves. Moving over to the window Wendy gave the frame a couple of tugs, but, unsurprisingly it was locked in place. With a small sigh she glanced back at the bathroom, Bebe still wasn't done.  
"Hm?"  
Wendy's gaze rested on a tall grandfather clock standing in an alcove by the window, a little confused as to why she hadn't noticed it earlier. The gold pendulum was frozen mid-swing, the glass smudged and dirty. So, in no better shape than the rest of the school.  
Wendy stared at the glass, behind her reflection the clock hands stood unmoving.  
 **Dong.**  
The pendulum swung to the left, staying in it's new position. Something flickered in the top corner of the glass, drawing Wendy's eyes to the shape appearing beside her reflection. A patch of red blossomed from the centre of the clock face, spreading until the entire circle was stained deep crimson. Tension knotted in the pit if Wendy's stomach, the clock hands sunk into the liquid, melting into each other. From the red something began to push out of the clock, staring out as a bulge on the clock out stretched further. Wendy's breath hitched when she realised fingers were emerging, dripping red as they stretched nearer to her face. Her mouth opened in the beginning of a scream, but in a lightning motion the now fully formed hand shot to grab her throat.  
 _Help!_  
Struggling against the fingers tightening around her neck Wendy could feel the air quickly escaping her lungs. No matter how hard she pushed against the hand it wouldn't budge. Her vision blurred, Wendy could feel her mind shutting down.  
Then as suddenly as it had come the grip around her throat was gone and she fell backwards. Wendy coughed, realising someone was holding her.  
"Bebe?"  
She spoke hoarsely, but thankfully her vision was coming back into focus.  
"Wendy what happened?"  
There were blonde curls brushing against her cheek, Wendy breathed a sigh of relief, shifting her weight back to her feet she turned and pulled Bebe into a tight hug. After a moments hesitation she felt Bebe's arms gently return the hug.  
"Hey are you okay?"  
Bebe held Wendy's shoulders, her blue eyes swimming with concern,  
"Is it your leg? Do you have a temperature?!"  
"I-I..."  
Wendy's brow creased, her fingers brushed against her neck. It didn't hurt.  
 _What's going on.._  
Her attention was drawn to the pressure of Bebe's hand on her forehead,  
"Hmm, you feel pretty hot"  
The statement came with a small smirk from the blonde.  
"Bebe."  
Wendy rolled her eyes, shaking the hand away from her head. From the corner of her eye the clock came into view, the pendulum was back the way she'd first seen it,  
"I think we're near the exit, lets get going."  
Striding quickly down the stairs Wendy waited only until she could hear her friends footsteps hurrying down the stairs before walking forwards. The tension that had been knotting in her stomach unravelled when she turned a corner to see two large double doors,  
"The exit!"  
Bebe squeaked happily, jogging past Wendy to the door. The noirette followed more slowly, treading carefully over the piles of tiny shoes scattered around the foyer.  
 _What happened to them?_  
Wendy wondered as she reached Bebe's side, confused as to what would make so many children leave so quickly.  
Bebe wrapped her hands round one of the doorhandles',  
"On three, lets open them together!"  
Wendy nodded, gripping the other handle.  
"One, two.."  
She took a deep breath, her fingers tightened.  
"Three!"  
They pulled, but the door's response was only to rattle on it's hinges.  
Wendy tugged again, hoping that it was only stuck. But the door refused to budge.  
"It's locked.."  
Bebe sighed, nonchalantly turning back round to check for any other exits.  
Wendy on the other hand was on the verge of tears, scared and desperate to leave before anything else weird happened.  
Giggling floated from behind Wendy, her breath quickened in panic.  
"Bebe I think someone else is here!"  
"Really?"  
The blonde's eyes lit up,  
"Is it Stan and his friends?"  
"Didn't you hear it?"  
"Huh?"  
Bebe's heels did a slow circle, her eyes scanning the foyer,  
"Wendy there's no one else here."  
"But I-"  
"Nu-uh!"  
A finger was pushed against Wendy's lips,  
"Lets go back upstairs for now I think I saw the sign for an infirmary."

...

Wendy didn't have the willpower left to resist, she let Bebe lead her upstairs until she was lying on the dusty sheets of a bed in the school infirmary. It was surprisingly big Wendy noted, considering they were apparently in an elementary school.  
"All the medicine is out of date"  
Bebe announced, perching on the edge of the bed with an opened first aid kit on her lap,  
"but these might help."  
Putting the rest of the kit in the floor Bebe wrapped yellowed bandages Wendy's injured leg.  
"If only we had some ice.."  
"I'm fine, thanks."  
Wendy smiled gratefully, she wasn't bleeding but just having the soft bandages around her ankle seemed to soothe it. Wriggling closer to the wall she patted the space beside her,  
"Quit hovering it's making me feel bad."  
The mattress sunk a little with the added weight, creating a small dip for Bebe to nestle into.  
"Wendy.."  
The blonde mumbled, hugging Wendy's arm.  
"Hm?"  
"We'll always be together, right?"  
Wendy blinked, a little confused before smiling,  
"Sure, we'll always be friends!"  
"Yeah.."  
The smile Bebe returned wasn't as wide as Wendy was used to seeing and she released Wendy's arm in favour of adjusting her unruly curls.  
The shift on the mattress caused Wendy to notice her wallet had fallen out of her pocket, she opened it and caught the scrap of paper sliding from in-between her cards.  
Bebe rolled onto her side, looking at the paper with a surprised expression,  
"Oh that's from the good luck charm we did, right?"  
"Yeah but we must have done something wrong, it isn't giving us much luck right now."  
Wendy chuckled softly, doubt flashing through her thoughts as for once she wished she wasn't right.  
"I think I misplaced mine"  
Bebe shrugged, getting up and brushing down her skirt,  
"I'm gonna go look for it."  
Wendy sat up, ready to follow her friend but Bebe shook her head, flashing Wendy a grin,  
"You stay and rest, kay?"  
"Okay"  
She mumbled, her brow creased with worry as Bebe disappeared down the hallway. Wendy allowed herself a long sigh,  
"So much for staying together.."  
 **Dong.**  
The all too familiar sound of a clock filled Wendy's ears, renewing the sense of dread she'd felt earlier.  
Across the room a lamp flickered into life, but even something as simple as that made Wendy want to run and find Bebe. But she couldn't. Her body refused to respond to the commands her mind was screaming at it. All except her eyes, they were able to watch as a wooden chair grated over the dilapidated infirmary floor, coming to a stop next to her bed.  
"Karen, are you here?"  
The voice didn't have a direction, a deep tone just seemed to echo around Wendy's skull. On the wall next to her the tiny cracks in the masonry widened, and from them blood oozed, sliding down the grey walls towards her.  
 _Help!_  
As if only to worsen her situation the door leading out of the infirmary slammed shut, a dark red handprint appeared on the brass doorknob.  
"Karen..?"  
Her attention was drawn back to the chair, from the corners of the room all the darkness appeared to gather on that chair, shifting and warping before finally settling on a humanoid shape.  
 _Help, Bebe!_  
Inside Wendy screamed, hoping her friend would appear again and save her from this nightmare. It had to be a nightmare.  
A pair of eyes emerged from the darkness, the entire shadow then surged forward, grabbing her arms with solid tendrils.  
The thought keeping her sane shattered.  
Whatever creature was controlled the mass of darkness turned to the rest of Wendy, she could feel it grabbing at her skin and forcing her mouth open. It forced it's way inside, the sensation causing Wendy to gag and jerk upright.  
"Get away! Get away!"  
Finally she was in control, Wendy screeched in panic, racing across the room to yank at the door handle.  
"Help!"  
She let out a small yelp of alarm, realising there was a thick layer of brown hair wound around the handle and leading away to become tangled in various locations around the room, holding the door firmly closed. Wendy frantically tore at the wires of hair, all too aware of the heaving mass of shadowing getting closer.  
"Please come back Karen."  
Tendrils brushed against her leg, Wendy released the last of the oxygen in her lugs as a scream, ripping the hair blocking her exit and half running half falling into the hallway. She managed to scramble forward a couple of feet, turning her head to see the shadow person dissipate when it reached the hallway.  
For a while Wendy didn't move, despite the splinters sticking into her sides and dirt rubbing into her skin and clothes. She lay there catching her breath, watching a candle placed by the infirmary entrance steadily burn and flicker in an unfelt breeze.  
Choking back tears Wendy soon found the strength to sit up, looking down the hall on either side of her. Noticing a shape down the way she and Bebe had come from Wendy stood up and made her way towards it.  
"Bebe?"  
She called weakly, praying it would be her friend. As she neared the shape she saw it was a woman sitting on a chair, long red hair covered her face and eyes.  
"H-hello?"  
No response. Gingerly Wendy reached out to shake the woman's shoulder, her hand connected with the woman's body and she collapsed. Her neck twisted when it hit the floor, turning up face up to look at Wendy with empty caverns where there should have been eyes.  
Instinctively Wendy covered her mouth, already feeling bile rising at the sight of the decaying person. Maggots started to emerge from the sockets, trying to burrow back into greyish leathery skin after their disruption.  
This time Wendy gagged, turning round to avoid looking at the body any longer. But what she was faced with now was no better. The little girl was back, by now her dress was soaked completely in crimson, blood still dribbling from the corners of her mouth.  
Horrified Wendy took a couple steps backwards, one foot landing on the woman's body accompanied by a _squelch._  
Wendy lost all the snacks she'd eaten at the festival earlier, stomach acid stinging the inside of her throat. She sunk to her knee's just as Bebe rounded the corner, thundering towards Wendy. Glancing up she noticed Bebe's eyes were panicked.  
"Wendy the most horrible thing just-!"  
The blonde paused to take in the decayed corpse and her friends state, her blue eyes widened a little,  
"There are dead bodies here too?"  
Wendy began to shake, her knuckles turning white with the effort of clenching her fists.  
"Why did you take so long?!"  
All of a sudden the emotions that had been building over the past couple hours bubbled over, and Bebe was their unfortunate victim.  
"Why didn't you come back?! I almost died! And you made me think something terrible happened to you! I tried to call for you, why didn't you come?!"  
Bebe fell silent, looking down at her shoes with of a mixture of shock and shame.  
"I.. I only wanted you to rest.."  
Bebe's voice shook, the moisture in her eyes about to spill over.  
She frantically shook her head,  
"No! Wendy wouldn't say that, she doesn't hate me!"  
In a flash of blonde Bebe was racing away, her audible sobbing fading into the darkness of the hallways.  
After a minute Wendy stopped shaking, covering her mouth upon realising what she'd just done.  
 _I have to find Bebe and apologize._  
Wendy got to her feet, the pit of her stomach filled with guilt. She walking steadily in the direction her friend had headed, a smell hit her nose as she neared the staircase back to the first floor. Wendy gagged a little, holding her nose she stepped forward and found the source of the stench.  
Body parts littered the staircase, Wendy could cleary make various arms and legs, there was even a decapitated head spilling pinkish mush out onto the wooden steps.  
Closing her eyes Wendy let the dizziness subside, she didn't allow herself to question the horror she'd stumbled upon, right now she had to find Bebe. Hurrying down the stairs Wendy continued down the hall, glancing into each classroom for signs of her friend.  
 **Dong.**  
As she reached the end of the hall she heard the clock chime again, her skin pricked with nerves. Wendy's eyes were drawn to something on the floor, a block of bright pink plastic that contrasted to the entire building.  
It was Bebe's cell phone.  
She picked it up and glanced around the hall,  
"Bebe?"  
After a few seconds of silence Wendy look at the door the cell had been next to, 'toilets'. She pushed open the door and peered inside, some busted up sinks and four stalls. Wendy stepped into the washroom and let the door swing closed behind her.  
"Bebe?"  
One of the stall doors creaked.  
"Bebe I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me."  
She walked to the last stall, it was the only closed one.  
"Please come out of there."  
No response.  
"Bebe I'll come in myself if I have to."  
Silence.  
"Bebe?"  
Leaning forward Wendy gave the door a light push, it swung open with no resistance. The scene inside took Wendy's brain far too long to comprehend.  
Bebe was swinging from a beam above the toilet seat, the noose around her neck suspending her there. Her face was white and streaked with fluids, blood and mucus crusting together just below her nose.  
Wendy screamed.  
That was all she could think to do.  
Then Bebe moved, blue eyes shot open and her hands flew to the rope around her neck, trying to free her throat of the strangling fabric.  
"W-nd-y!"  
Between choking Bebe managed to muster enough oxygen to speak, the sound snapped Wendy out of her stupor.  
"Oh my god!"  
The noirette wrapped her arms around Bebe's waist, trying to hold her up. Her feet slipped, resulting in the rope being dug into Bebe's neck.  
"S..ry.."  
Bebe gasped, eyes bulging from lack of oxygen.  
"Don't talk!"  
Wendy shrieked, tugging at the rope around her friends neck. Blood trickled onto her fingers and down her hands, the rope continuing to dig into Bebe's skin. Panic was clouding Wendy's mind as she struggled to free Bebe, a thought suddenly hit her,  
 _Something for her to stand on!_  
Scrambling out of the stall Wendy searched frantically for a useful object, her eyes landing on a bucket by the door.  
Relief flared up in her chest but was quickly doused by disgust when she saw what the bucket was filled with.  
Blood and intestines were dripping from a small crack in the metal, staining the wood around it deep red.  
With a quick shake of her head Wendy grabbed the bucket, Bebe now foremost in her mind she tipped the buckets contents into the hallway and ran back to the toilet stall.  
The bucket clattered to the floor, Wendy followed, dropping to her knees in horror.  
Bebe's arms now hung limply at her sides, blood and chunks of skin hung from her nails.  
Wendy felt hot tears sliding down her cheeks.  
 _Dead._  
The simple fact registered in her mind. Wendy screamed, finally allowing her sadness to gush out in the form of tears.  
"No! No, no no! Bebe, why?!"  
She wailed to the corpse in front of her, digging her fingers into her hair, still not willing to accept the scene.  
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry Bebe! Please Bebe, don't leave me alone!"

...

 _In just a few hours I went from having fun with my friends in a classroom to watching one of them die right before my eyes. This reality, there's no way I can accept it. But, this is a place where anything can happen. This place.. Is the cursed South Park Elementary._


	4. Chapter 3

_South Park: Tortured Souls- Chapter 3_

Wendy's P.O.V

"Those touched by the curse of this school are gradually stripped of their sanity and end up in a state of confusion. Without warning they cause harm to others. Well, the symptoms may vary from person to person but in the end, their bodies will be stained black as charcoal, and their souls will be trapped in the cursed South Park Elementary for all eternity."  
A voice floated from the doorframe and into Wendy's ears, but the information just barley went in. She felt too numb be paying much attention.  
"I call this phenomenon 'The Darkening'."  
Wendys eyes were fixated on her clenched fists, her knuckles turning white under the pressure she was putting on them. These were the hands that hadn't been quick enough to save Bebe.  
"I'm sorry for your loss."  
The voice spoke again. Sick of the sight of her own hands Wendy turned her head to the door. She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting to see but this wasn't it.  
Leaning casually against the mould-ridden door, stood a boy around her age dressed in a bright orange hoodie. His hands were buried somewhere in his jeans pockets, flashes of blond peeked out from under the fur lined hood, and everything about his posture suggested someone cheerful, yet his expression was one of absolute seriousness.  
"I believe your friend was touched by that curse and reacted in a defensive manner, her mind told her the best option would be to commit suicide."  
Wendy didn't question who this boy was, she didn't care enough to want to know. Yet despite lack of encouragement the boy continued to talk.  
"This makes you the only living being in the school. You will remain alone untill you die."  
Closing her eyes Wendy began to sob again, her head lowering in defeat.  
 _This isn't fair! Bebe...  
_ When she looked up again the boy wasn't standing there, a quick glance at her surroundings confirmed he was no longer in the bathroom.  
"He left.."  
She mumbled quietly, the hollow feeling in her chest throbbing faster when her eyes passed Bebe.  
Then something odd struck her.  
 _Why didn't I hear him open the door?_

...

Kyle's P.O.V

 **Crack! Crack!  
** Despite a lack of any progress to make his own exit Kyle continued to slam a chair he'd picked up into the classroom window.  
"Come on!"  
 **Crack! Crack!  
** "You can't escape."  
A new sound entered the room, Kyle dropped the chair in surprise and spun to see a boy dressed in a large orange hoodie sitting cross-legged on the floor mere feet from him.  
"Neither can the friends you came here with, now all you have to do is wait."  
The boy spoke nonchalantly, uncrossing his legs and getting to his feet.  
"Others?"  
Kyle frowned, taking a couple steps along the wall to distance himself from the stranger,  
"Are my friends here?"  
He then noticed the hooded boys feet were beginning to blur before fading away, the same process working it's way up the rest of his body.  
"Hey! Wait!"  
Kyle took a couple steps forward, unwilling to get too close,  
"Are Stan and Butters here? Wait!"  
But the boy was gone. Kyle clenched his teeth, stomping the floor in annoyance. The weakened wood cracked under him and dropped his foot into the space between the floorboards.  
"Shit.."  
He hissed, pulling his stinging foot out of the hole he created, he could feel a dozen or so splinters digging into him. Brushing a majority off with his hand Kyle looked back at the window, darkness.  
 _What happened to us?_

...

Stan's P.O.V

The noirette sat on one of the tiny desks of the classroom he'd woken up in, watching his companion, Clyde, investigating a volume of dark red liquid pooling in one of the corners of the room. After poking it with a snapped chair leg the boy who'd woken him up hurried back to Stan's side.  
"That's blood, man. That's actual blood!"  
Clyde's voice became progressively higher pitched as he spoke, chocolate coloured eyes still set on the puddle of supposed blood. Stan wasn't convinced. He pulled the crumpled piece of paper he'd woken up with from his trouser pocket, unfolding it and resting it's contents on his knees. It was a dirty, yellowed newspaper article about the school his had been built on. Along with the article a stray scrap of much newer looking paper lay on his lap, brushing it away the scrap fluttered to the floor, getting soaked by the patch of damp wood it landed on.  
"What's that?"  
Clyde asked, his attention now directed at what Stan was holding.  
"South Park Local News Report: A dreadful crime broke out at the local elementary school. Over the past month numerous children have gone missing within the town, kidnapping being the most likely explanation. As a result of the investigation the police found the worst case scenario. When they discovered the bodies on September 18th 1973 at around 7PM. It was also revealed that a young female teacher from the school, alive but near-catatonic was found with them holding a pair of bloody scissors."  
The light-blub flickered as Stan finished reading, looking up to see Clyde nervously chewing his lip. He shoved the article back into his pocket and stood up,  
"Sounds like it's about the murder case Tweek was trying to scare us with, but still.. Where did the newspaper come from?"  
Theories ran through his head,  
 _It looks old, maybe this is the school it was written about, if so how did we get here, did we go back in time? No thats dumb, what if-  
_ His train of though was severed by Clyde shaking his shoulder,  
"Stan"  
"What?!"  
"I gotta piss."  
For a moment Stan just stared at the brown haired boy, causing Clyde's cheeks to flush with embarrassment.  
"Just go in a corner or something, I won't watch."  
Stan shrugged, turning to face the doorway.  
"W-we're in a school right? Can't we go find a bathroom?"  
Tilting his head to look back at him Stan rolled his eyes at Clyde,  
"Fine."  
"Thank you~"  
He heard Clyde hopping after him as he walked along a corridor, his classmates footsteps spiradic as he tried to keep up with Stan's long strides. As it turns out the bathroom was at the very end of a hallway, naturally Stan was the first to reach the unhinged rectangle of wood he assumed used to be the door. He swung it to the side to make space to get into the bathrooms, but the metal still clinging to the wall snapped and Stan was forced to dodge to one side and avoid the door falling on him. He heard Clyde squeak in surprise but the noise was quickly drowned out by the reverberations of wood slamming against wood.  
"Well. Here we are"  
Stan announced once the hallway had fallen quiet again, turning to Clyde expectantly. The brunette hopped over the fallen planks and stepped into the doorway, peering into the gloom nervously. He glanced back at Stan, the raven haired boy rolled his eyes.  
"Don't tell me you're scared to go in there by yourself?"  
Stan smirked, Clyde scrunched up his nose indignantly and retaliated by sticking his tongue out. Stan's smirk only widened at his classmates immaturity. He moved to look into the bathroom as well, seeing only vague shadows of objects.  
"Well go o-"  
He stopped himself, something on the bathroom floor was emitting a soft orange glow. Clyde stepped forward.  
 _No, it's not this floor  
_ "Wait!"  
Stan grabbed Clyde's jacket collar, leaving him dangling in mid-air, but stopping him from falling through the gaping hole in the floor. He brought the smaller boy back to solid ground, Clyde's glazed eyes telling him the brunette was still processing what was happening.  
"Thank you"  
Clyde gasped, staring into the hole that was now illuminated by what appeared to be a small flame, it's source neither boy could see.  
"Looks like you have some sorta' guardian angel on your side."  
Stan spoke half jokingly, pushing away a jolt of fear left in his body his gaze moved up from the hole and back to the bathroom stalls. There was no way to get to them, and he doubted Clyde would use the crumbling urinals even if they could get over there. Clyde always got jumpy when it came to bathrooms.  
"Lets keep going"  
Stan announced, watching the floor on which he placed his feet far more carefully than when he'd entered. His slower pace allowed Clyde to keep in time with his steps, the brunette was putting on a brave face now, even striding ahead sometimes.  
"Wet yourself yet?"  
Stan's comment caused Clyde to stumble, the pink tint of embarrassment in his cheeks quickly darkened. Despite the fact Stan already knew the answer it was amusing to watch, if Clyde had wet himself it would definitely be noticeable.  
"No."  
Picking up his speed Clyde walked ahead of Stan, the noirette chuckled, his classmate disappeared down the staircase and then he followed. He'd only gone down a couple steps before a short scream made him freeze. The scream was followed by footsteps thundering along wood, and Clyde appeared in-front of him, running up the stairs. When he saw Stan he grabbed the taller boys arm, talking quickly between gasps of breath. Stan couldn't understand a word of it.  
"Dude"  
He shook Clyde's shoulder, the brunette paused, inhaling deeply.  
"B-bodies, dead bodies d-dude!"  
Stan frowned at him skeptically, before remembering the newspaper article in his pocket...  
"Was there anyone else down there?"  
He enquired, praying to some unknown entity that the killer wasn't anywhere in this building. Clyde shook his head. With his brave façade once again steeled Stan marched the rest of the way down the stairs, Clyde in tow. He turned the corner and was unable to stifle a gag as the smell hit him full force.  
"Dude."  
Stan mumbled into his jacket sleeve pressed over his nose and mouth.  
 _Even the school locker rooms smell better than this  
_ Ahead of them the entire hall was splashed with varying shades of red, shadowy lumps lay on the floor, Stan assumed these were the bodies Clyde had been freaked out by. And rightly so. The ones Stan could see were horribly disfigured, missing limbs, faces slashed up, eyes crushed in, organs spilling out of their corpses and collecting as a sludge by their side. Behind him Stan heard Clyde wretch and then the splashes of the brunette emptying his stomach next to Stan's trainers.  
"Dude!"  
He hissed at Clyde, sidestepping before any more bile could hit him.  
"S-sorry"  
Clyde croaked,  
"Can w-we get out of he-here now?"  
Clyde was starting to blubber, sniffling noisily.  
"Okay, come on!"  
Stan hurried them forward, not ready for Clyde to start bawling. He hopped over the bodies relatively easily, but unfortunately Clyde wasn't gifted with the same athleticism but did his best to muffle his squeals of horror whenever something squelched under his pumps, never brave enough to look down and see what he'd landed on. Eventually Stan slowed down when it appeared they were in the clear, at the end of the hall it split again in two directions. He was about to evaluate their options when white light flashed from down the left-hand hallway. Stan tensed, cautiously peering into the hall, another flash illuminated the entire hallway for a second. Blood and bodies. He was ready to run away when there was another flash, and at the very end of the hallway Stan spotted a shock of bright red hair he'd recognize anywhere. Barley giving it a moments thought Stan started to run, leaving Clyde to get over his stupor. As he neared the end of the hallway the gloom faded and he could see the figure clearly.  
"Kyle!"  
Kyle turned, his shocked expression quickly melting into a wide grin when he recognized his friend.  
"Stan!"  
If they were younger the pair might have embraced, but Stan instinctively shyed away before any physical contact could be initiated.  
"Hey dude"  
The noirette smiled, instead patting his friends shoulder as a greeting. It looked like Kyle was about to speak but Clyde then came into ear shot, the brunette whimpering a little.  
"Don't run off without saying anything!"  
Clyde's voice trembled, stopping to wipe his nose on his sleeve once he reached Stan's side. Kyle's brow creased at them both, the look compelling Stan to offer the brunette an apology.  
"Sorry man, but we found Kyle didn't we."  
He shrugged, Clyde was obviously not convinced by the half-hearted apology but didn't say anything. Stan took this as acceptance and turned back to see what Kyle had been looking at, the far wall was stained red and pink with what appeared to be someone's entire inner workings spattered over the bricks, amongst the mush Stan could see strips of clothing, even what appeared to be tufts of blond.  
 _Is that.. hair?  
_ Stan started to feel sick and quickly turned away, glancing at the device Kyle was holding.  
"Were you taking pictures of that..?"  
The enquiry appeared to startle Kyle a little and his phone was hurriedly stuffed into his pocket.  
"Y-yeah. As evidence though, this is either to sick prank or actual people were killed here. No one'll believe the weird shit I've seen without these."  
He finished his rushed explanation with a curt tap on his trousers pocket.  
"I guess.."  
Stan glanced back at the display on the wall, by far the worst 'body' he'd come across so far. That was when Clyde broke. Hands over his ears Clyde sunk to the floor, curling himself over his knee's, his crying coming out in short loud bursts.  
"I hate this place! It's horrible, and I'm scared and I just want to leave!"  
The flicker of joy at finding Kyle didn't last long, Clyde's panicked rant forcing the reality of the situation onto Stan. He'd ended up in some crazy shit before, but this felt different, everything about this just felt wrong.  
"Clyde, crying's not gonna help."  
Stan mumbled awkwardly, despite the number of times the brunette had burst into tears he'd never been the one tasked with fixing him.  
 _At least Kyle know's what he's doing  
_ The redhead had squatted to about Clyde's level,  
"Stan's right, if there is something bad happening here stopping could put us in danger, you have to be brave Clyde." _  
_The words of encouragement didn't stop Clyde sniffling but he did stagger to his feet quickly after the word 'danger', rubbing his face into the fabric of his jacket arm. Stan frowned,  
"Danger? Have you seen anyone?"  
Kyle nodded, turning his head to stare into the hallway Stan hadn't gone down. The look reflected in his friends eyes sent a chill down his spine.  
"There are, others, here. Not just our friends and us."  
Stan felt something brush against his arm, internally he panicked for a second, quickly realising it was just Clyde moving closer to him. Kyle continued,  
"But they don't really seem like people anymore.. I tried to talk to one but she didn't respond, it was like she wasn't even there."  
His green eyes darkened, inhaling as if preparing to speak again but something made Kyle pause. His next sentence came out as little more than a whisper,  
"There are ghosts here to. Of children. We should stay away from them."  
Clyde bit his lip, glancing over his shoulder apprehensively.  
"Dude now this sounds like the start of a horror movie."  
Stan meant the statement as a joke, but his delivery fell flat as he thought about the things he'd seen so far that day, everything was way too real. The three boys stood in silence. Clyde sniffed. Then Kyle spoke again,  
"In any case I'm glad you guys are ok."  
"It's good to see you safe too.. But"  
Kyle raised a quizzical eyebrow,  
"But?"  
"But if our friends are here they might be in danger, me and Clyde saw bodies back that way, we should find the others ASAP."  
Kyle nodded slowly, taking a minute to ponder their situation,  
"You're right, and splitting up would be the fastest way to do it."  
Clyde's response was a vigorous shake of his head,  
"Noooo way, this place is way too creepy!"  
"We can leave faster if we all look separately"  
Kyle defend his suggestion. The brunette turned to Stan pleadingly, the taller boy scuffed the heel of his trainers against the ground and glanced back to Kyle.  
"Fine. Clyde you can stay with Stan but I'm going to search by myself."  
The redhead was already striding forward, waving over his shoulder as passed the two boys.  
"If you find anyone we'll all meet by the entrance."  
"Kyle wait!"  
Stan moved to follow his friend, Kyle paused his march and glanced over his shoulder, frowning a little at him.  
"Never mind.."  
The noirette sighed sadly, he didn't have much of a case to argue with Kyle's plan, and if one thing was certain the redhead would be able to keep himself safe. Stan turned to narrow his eyes at Clyde, causing the brunette to shrink back a little,  
"It's you and me again I guess."  
"Yeah."

Craig's P.O.V

"Hey, Tweek!"  
Craig called, spotting his friend at the end of the hallway. He waved a greeting but the blond didn't return the gesture, in fact Craig realised Tweek hadn't noticed him at all. Instead Tweek's hazel gaze was fixed on a tall grandfather clock hands clutching his head, as Craig neared him he heard Tweek was whimpering. Suddenly very worried Craig quickened his pace,  
"Are you okay?"  
Now Craig was almost close enough to touch his friend, he raised his arm to pat Tweek's head but froze in shock when the short blond let out a terrified scream.  
"We can't be here!"  
Tweek's fingernails dug into his hair, his eyes scrunched shut as he frantically shook his head as if to dispel images from a bad dream. Craig lay a firm hand on Tweek's shoulder,  
"Tweek, calm down."  
The blond's breathing quickened,  
"I-If we're here t-then we'll.."  
Tweek cut himself off with another scream. Craig bit his lip, at this rate Tweek was on his way to a full blown anxiety attack. Placing a hand on both Tweek's shoulders Craig turned Tweek to face him, bending his knees a little to get down to Tweek's eye level.  
"Listen to me Tweek, now breathe."  
Hazel eyes opened slowly, Tweek's head stilling to stare back at Craig.  
 **Tap  
...**  
 **Tap  
** _Footsteps?  
_ Craig's head turned to spot a shape in the gloomy hallway, it's little shoes drumming against the mould ridden floor. The shoes belonged to a child, the little boy's face was downcast, but Craig still managed to recognize the shock of dark hair on his head. His mind traveled back to the night prior, when Tweek had shown him an article about the kidnapping's that took place in South Park Elementary, three girls and a single boy. His eyes widened,  
 _It's the boy from the article!  
_ "You mustn't make eye contact with him!"  
Tweek's voice filled his ears just at the child was raising his head.  
"Got it"  
Craig shut his eyes, turning his head away. But when he opened them again a pair of dark beady eyes were there to greet him. His insides seized up with fear, letting go of Tweek Craig stumbled away from the child, his heart beating faster for every moment the boy continued to stare at him. Their clothes were dull and patched with reddish stains, and several deep gashes littered the child's physique.  
"Stay away!"  
Craig gasped, tripping over his own feet in desperation to escape and landing with a thud against the wall. The child smiled, not the sweet, joyful smile Craig would expect to see on a grade schooler, this smile was more of a demented grimace that stretched almost the entire length of his face. From behind his back the child produced a knife, holding it up to show both students his weapon.  
"Which one will die first~"  
He chimed, running the blade along his finger the dark eyes were directed at Tweek,  
"The little one?"  
The childs gaze slid over to Craig's scared expression and he took a couple of steps towards the collapsed boy.  
"Or the big one?"  
Craig's mouth opened, his jaw trembling, at a loss for anything to say. He was frozen. Then Tweek started to whimper again.  
"Craig.."  
The child's head snapped to look at the blonde, in a flicker of movement he had the pointed end of the knife pressing against Tweek's throat.  
"I'm starting with you?"  
The child's voice came out so sweetly it was sickening, but the feeling of bile rising in his throat gave Craig the sense of reality he needed. Summoning up the courage the childs glare hadn't sapped from him Craig let out a yell,  
"Leave him alone!"  
A high-pitched laugh resonated through the hallway,  
"Okay!"  
Little footsteps thundered past Tweek, the child's blade raised above his head. He leapt at Craig.  
 **Dong!  
** Then he was gone. Both the small boy and his weapon had winked out of existence before Craig's eyes, but he didn't allow himself to be relieved just yet.  
 **Thump  
** Tweek's knees gave way with a thud, seeing this Craig sprung to his feet and in a moment was kneeling at his friends side.  
"You okay?"  
Tweek's reply was a shaky nod. Now Craig could see there was a thin stream blood trickling from a small puncture in the boys neck, and guilt welled up at his inability to react faster. He pressed his sleeve to Tweek's neck, the black school jacket masked the blood as he listened to Tweek's breathing return to normality.  
"T-Thanks"  
The creak of nearby floorboards reminded Craig of the imminent danger, and a tall figure flickering into his field of vision set the noirette on high alert. Removing his jacket he dropped it by his trembling friend before straightening his legs.  
"Who's there?"  
He snarled into the shadows, fists tightening by his sides. Dirty blond hair escaped from under the jacket hood of a teenage boy walking towards them, his orange-clad body flickering in and out of darkness before solidifying a few steps from Craig.  
"So you're the one with a strong spiritual sense"  
Craig noticed the teen was looking past him at Tweek, a glance over his shoulder assured him Tweek was still okay, but looking just as terrified by this new arrival. His attention was returned to the teen, their blue eyes moved over Craig critically at first, then a smirk tugged at his jawline.  
"But who are you supposed to be?"  
"Did you save us?"  
Craig ignored the question, doing his best to look intimidating despite the dirty blond being just as tall as him. The boy shrugged, the smirk still plastered across his face,  
"Yeah"  
"A-are you trapped h-here too?"  
From behind them Tweek's voice piped up, his fingers tugging nervously at fraying fabric on Craig's jacket sleeve.  
"I died here a long time ago."  
The reply caused Craig to step backwards, if they had another ghost on their hands he was eager to distance himself. His reaction prompted a chuckle from the boy,  
"I'm not like the kidnapping victim"  
He assured the pair,  
"I came to this place because I needed to find something. Something import."  
The ghost looked away, blue eyes misting over with emotion. Craig felt Tweek's arm brush against his, his thin fingers curling round Craig's arm.  
"A-are you perhaps, Kenny McCormick..?"  
This question caught the ghosts attention, for a moment he stared back at Tweek in surprise then answered with a curt nod.  
"Huh?"  
Craig blinked quizzically at his friend, how could he possibly know that,  
 _And why does that name sound so familiar?  
_ Without another word Kenny turned and walked into the shadows, his footsteps echoing back to Craig's ears. Tweek's hand fell away from his wrist and he walked quickly in pursuit of the ghost in the orange hoodie. Half-reluctantly Craig joined him. It turned out 'Kenny' had walked into a small library, the room and it's contents were in surprisingly good condition despite the inevitable dust, insects and smell of damp paper. The shelves were ceiling high with books but the overall size of the room made it easy to spot the teen sitting in the far corner, slumped back in a chair with feet propped up on a table. In his hands was a book, the front cover too worn and dusty for Craig to make out the title. The blond payed no notice to the two boys as they neared his table, stopping a meter or so away.  
"Who is this guy?"  
Craig asked, his eyes narrowed suspiciously at Kenny.  
"Kenny McCormick, he was an aspiring journalist living in South Park back when the elementary school was still open. He and his brother investigated a bunch of weird stuff that went on in the town, remember that book I showed you yesterday?"  
Craig nodded.  
"That's where he wrote down all his discoveries."  
"So you found my journal?"  
The sudden response made Craig jump a little, as well as the fact Kenny was now standing right next to him despite never noticing him move.  
"Y-yeah, I guess I did"  
Tweek shuffled back a little, his cheeks flushed pink as he spoke,  
"I-I'm actually a b-big fan of your work. I managed to track down most of your a-articles."  
"Thanks"  
Kenny grinned, suddenly a lot closer to Tweek and causing the tint on his cheeks to darken. Now was a good time to interrupt.  
"So _you're_ journal contained the spell that got us into this place?"  
Craig spoke accusingly, disappointingly Kenny didn't rise to it, his reply was a simple nod,  
"Well it didn't work very well."  
To counter Craig's acidic tone Tweek spoke again, the shorter boys brow was creased with concern,  
"Your writing just cut off after the charm, I couldn't find any information why... w-what happened?"  
Spinning on his heels Kenny faced away, strutting forward he stopped in front of a book case, his hand rising to pull one from the shelf but he hesitated, only brushing his fingers over the spine of a dust-encased novel.  
"I came to this world looking for answers. But, my pursuit for truth is the reason I can never escape this place"  
"Wh-"  
"Because they killed me."  
Kenny's words silenced any further questions Tweek had, Craig noticed his friend's expression had grown sombre. The noirette had had enough of this guy.  
"Come on Tweek, some guy who got himself killed isn't gonna help us."  
The noirette's mocking tone wavered when Kenny tilted his head to look at him, any humorous sparkle in the teens dark blue optics was gone, replaced with dead seriousness.  
"Actually, I'm probably you're only hope of stopping you and your friends meeting the same fate."  
Craig's mouth went dry, fear trying to wriggle it's way inside his mind, luckily Tweek still had courage enough to speak,  
"Our friends are here too? Can you tell us where?"  
In the silence that followed Kenny turned to face them holding a neatly folded newspaper, the paper yellowed and grubby.  
"This world is made up of closed spaces formed in the school, they're caused by four murder victims spirits."  
 _He's dodging the question  
_ Kenny unfolded the paper to reveal photo's Craig recognized from newspaper clippings in the journal, one dark haired boy caught his eye.  
"Hey, isn't that the kid who attacked us earlier?"  
"It certainly is my new friend, just be fortunate you haven't run into any of the girls yet."  
A wicked grin had returned to the blond ghosts face, now Craig was certain he didn't want to meet any more ghosts.  
"I've been working on a theory, and came close to proving it. But, in the state I am now.."  
He did a theatric spin, casting the paper aside as he went before stepping backwards and disappearing into a bookcase. Tweek let out a small disgruntled noise when the thrown newspaper hit his chest, the paper now conveniently folded into a regular tube shape. The blonde managed to catch it before it hit the floor, unfolding it to get a better look at the photos and leaving Craig to glare in confusion at the empty space Kenny had been standing.  
"..I can't do a thing."  
Turning round Craig could see Kenny leaning against the doorframe of the library entrance, the ghost casually shrugging his shoulders at the pair.  
 _How the- Oh nevermind I'm not going to ask.  
_ Craig shook his head disbelievingly, his previous fear turned to anger that showed when he spoke,  
"Are you gonna tell us how to get out of here or not?"  
"Patience. Patience. From my time here I figured if you could appease the victims spirits maybe the closed spaces will collapse and finally release their tortured souls."  
Tweek looked up from the paper, his teeth digging into his lower lip nervously,  
"But h-how?"  
Kenny's hand rose above his head and he held up two fingers,  
"Number one. Gain a confession from the murderer. The police never managed to catch them but fortunately for you they're trapped inside this school too. Number two. Appease the victims. They're still not at peace, but if you calm them the anger holding this dimension together will cease to exist."  
A glance at Tweek reminded Craig the children's spirits were no easy task to deal with, despite his friends hopeful smile.  
 _Getting near one almost got us killed, how are we supposed to calm them!  
_ Somewhere between rage and terror Craig smashed his foot into one of the smaller book stands, sending wood crashing to the floor and scattering pages.  
"Why did it have to be us! What did any of us do to deserve this?!"  
To punctuate his concern Craig threw his hands into the air and barking his words at Kenny. The ghost's expression dropped back to a serious glare."It was likely the fault of one of your _friends_."  
"W-what"  
Tweek gasped, only then did Craig notice Tweek had moved away from him, clutching the newspaper in front of himself like a shield.  
" 'Oh wouldn't it be funny if I recited the charm one to many times' "  
Kenny's voice was high pitched and mocking, his next taunt dropped to a lower octave and his eyes moved to narrow at Craig,  
" 'Who cares it's just a dumb kids story, I'm not even gonna take part' "  
Craig's automatic response was to ball his hands, resisting the impulse to punch something, preferably a person. Kenny shrugged his shoulders, his hands disappearing into his coat pockets,  
"Or it could have just been a mistake. Either would have messed it up."  
"My friends w-would never do something like t-that!"  
Kenny gave Tweek a questioning look and the defiance in the blonde's face faded.  
 _I counted enough times, right?  
_ The new information made Craig's stomach churn with doubt, Tweek appeared to be thinking similarly.  
"No! I'm sure of it! My friends t-took it seriously a-and we need to g-go find them! Come on Craig."  
Tweek's words came as a surprise to the noirette but he complied when Tweek grabbed his wrist, marching them both past Kenny and into the hallway.  
"You won't be able to find them."  
"Why not?"  
Tweek snapped at the ghost, his grip around Craig's wrist tightened. Kenny's reply was a dry laugh,  
"Weren't you listening? The spirits created _closed_ spaces, and not just one space, multiple places."  
"S-so you're saying.."  
"I'm saying if you don't exist in the same space you'll never meet!"  
Without warning Kenny was behind them, walking into the same darkness they'd met him in.  
"Wait!"  
Craig yelled after him, attempting to pursue the ghost but stumbling due to Tweek still having possession of his hand.  
"W-we don't need him."  
"But he has answers, he knows how to keep us out of danger"  
"I have you d-don't I?"  
A light blush crept into Craig's cheeks, the noirette angled his face away and nodded, suddenly grateful for the poorly lit hall.  
"Yeah."  
The grip around his wrist slacked,  
"Thank you."  
While a smile found itself on Craig's features the noirette looked back at the area Kenny had vanished into, his eyes resting on something that hadn't been there earlier. Obviously Tweek saw it too because his friend moved forward and picked up the object, holding it up for both of them to see.  
"A doll?"  
In Tweek's hands was a porcelain doll, pale china face, perfect blonde curls, large blue eyes and clothed in a dark pink dress, completed by large pink bow tied in her hair. What bothered Craig most wasn't the appearance of the creepy doll, but how immaculate and dust-free the entire thing was, as if someone was still taking care of it.  
"R-reckon it belongs to K-Kenny?"  
"It wouldn't surprise me."  
Tweek turned the doll over, brushing his fingers over the ribbon,  
"Huh?"  
"What?"  
"There's a n-name here."  
He was right, leaning towards the doll Craig was able to read a word stitched into the underside of the ribbon.  
" 'Victoria'?"

...

Tokens P.O.V

The hallway was deathly quiet with only the echoes of his footsteps there to lull Token's increasing claustrophobia. Fortunately he'd found a hallway lit by a few candles, the light allowed him to finally get a look at the sheet of paper he'd found next to him when he woke up in... Wherever he was. To combat the silence Token read out-loud, but even his own voice felt alien in the situation,  
"The brutal deaths in South Park Elementary have now been traced back to the hands of a teacher found in the room with them. The scissors she held are confirmed to have been used to cut out the victims tongues, leading to death through excessive bleeding or choking. One of the victims even had the majority of her head slowly and methodically removed..."  
 _Oh my god this is horrible! I can see why Tweek left out these details..  
_ His train of thought was abruptly cut off by high pitched giggling from a room he was passing, his first emotion was relief, someone else was here. Token's hand was turning the doorknob when another emotion hit him. Fear of the unknown. But his fear was short lived when Butters voice floated through the crack between the door and the wall.  
"Butters?"  
Token called out to the student, widening the door and stepping inside. The scene he was met with stopped the teaching-assistant in his tracks. Butters sat on a low wooden stool about the centre of the room, a surprisingly bright light bulb attached to the ceiling lit up the entire room, basking a crumbling classroom in a welcoming glow. But Token didn't have the courage to advance. Seated opposite Butter's were two small children, their skin grey and torn. The little girl closest to him was missing her left eye, the wound still oozing blood made her terrifying in spite of her innocent red pigtails and warm smile. Even worse was the child sitting next to her, taller than the red-headed girl and would likely have been taller if half her head wasn't missing. The gaping space contained what was left of her tongue and a pool of crimson, it look like she was supposed to be laughing at whatever Butters had just said but what little sound that emerged was gargling combined with blood bubbling in her concave skull and splashing down onto her pale pink dress.  
 _The murder victims from the paper!  
_ Token wretched. At the sound Butters turned and noticed him, his eyes visibly lighting up when he saw who was in the doorway.  
"You two! This is my good friend Token, he helps teach classes at my school."  
He told the children, beckoning Token closer. Both girls 'giggled' the headless one spilling yet more blood down what was left of her chin and the floor around her.  
 _No way.  
_ "Hmm? Yeah I like school too, the kids there are nice."  
Butter's attention was back on the girls, chatting to them excitedly.  
"Butters? Shouldn't we be looking for your classmates..?"  
Token spoke hesitantly, afraid he'd attract attention from the little girls. The blonde students smile faltered, his eyes flashing sadly.  
"I'm sorry Token, but I don't think I want to leave..."  
Butters spoke without turning to face Token, instead he had his eyes fixed on the girls,  
"...these children have been alone for so long. I don't want to abandon them too."  
"Butters what are you saying?!"  
Token shook his head, his voice rising with panic. When his student didn't respond Token took a step towards him, but the moment his foot touched the floor again the red-haired girl turned to look at him, her single pale blue eye burning with anger. Then Token felt his spine hit a wall, thrown back by an invisible force. Through his blurred vision he watched both girls stand up their features already turned to face him.  
"What about your friends? Stan and Kyle, they'll miss you if you stay."  
His tone was getting desperate now, trembling under the hateful glare of the red-haired child. Behind her Butters got up, glancing at them and then at Token.  
"Ruby, Shelly, I'm sorry but I have to go with Token now."  
The blonde student moved as if to walk past the children, but in unison the two girls grabbed his ankles. In a moment their feet had left the ground, hovering in mid-air and leaving Butters dangling upside-down, his face a mixture of confusion and fear.  
"Butters!"  
Token gasped, but before Butters could properly react the ghosts bolted out of the room, carrying him with them. Scrambling to his feet Token could hear screaming from the hallway, running back out of the room Token faced the direction the ghosts had taken his student.  
 **Splat  
** Butter's screams ended. Token's hands flew to his mouth in horror.  
 _No.  
_ At the end of the hall a wall that had once been painted white was covered in what remained to Leopold Butters Stotch. Unidentifiable now his bones, guts and clothing had been mashed together, all dripping with blood.  
"Oh my god..."  
The horror of the sight filled Token's senses. He barley registered footsteps approaching behind him, not untill a heavy object hit the back of his skull, and for him, everything went blank.


	5. Chapter 4

_South Park: Tortured Souls- Chapter 4_

Kyle's P.O.V

 _Two hours and still no luck  
_ Kyle Brofloski grumbled internally, tapping aimlessly trough the contents of his phone. He reached the end of his camera roll and stopped, it was a photo of his friend group from the start of the year, familiar faces all smiling wide, genuine smiles. Back when they all thought it was going to be forever. Front and centre was Butters, perched on a desk and flanked by Stan, his two best friends were leaning into each other, appearing as if they were still giggling over some shared joke one had told just before the camera button was pressed. Wendy was by them too, but was crushed against Bebe's chest, the blonde girl grinning goofily whilst Wendy struggled to be seen. Behind, the ever stoic Craig had his arms folded, but appeared to at least be making an effort to smile. Next to Craig, in his oversized sports coat and balancing on his tiptoes, Clyde attempted to give photo-Craig 'bunny ears', the effort wasn't in total vain because Craig did appear to have two lumps sticking out of his head. Kyle smirked, imagining how pissed the class giant would be if he ever knew he had this. Tweek could just about be seen over the heads of Butters and Stan, dark circles below his eyes made the boy's expression look more mournful than an actual smile. Finally, Token had scooted into the frame at the last minute and was frozen unsteadily, but still grinning and sticking his thumbs-up to the camera.  
 _Where are you guys?  
_ As he continued waking tried to imagine how the friends on his phone screen must be faring, he knew Clyde would be alright, Stan was with him, about the fittest kid in class, surpassed only by Craig Tucker when it came down to strength. But what about Tweek and Butters? The both of them were definitely on the frail side of things.  
 _If anything happened to Butters... I don't think I could..  
_ Kyle paused, he'd reached a staircase, but it wasn't the impending climb that grabbed his attention. Mere meters above him was a dead body slumped across the stairs, from where he was it was just a shadowy lump, but by now Kyle knew a dead person when he saw one. Starting up them, Kyle stopped on a wide step and leant his weight against the banisters to catch his breath.  
 _Hopefully Stan found him._  
Kyle glanced back at the body on the stairs above him, able to see it in detail now, it was a woman and thankfully no one he knew. White maggots wriggle in and out of their skin, the sight invoked a smile on Kyle's face. He chuckled lightly, sitting down on the steps and reaching for his phone before snapping a couple photos of the woman's body.  
"Amazing.."  
He whispered aloud whilst swiping back through his phone's camera roll, everything below the school festival was gore and bodies.  
"What am I doing?"  
Kyle abruptly stopped giggling, instead frowning at the sickening images.  
 _Oh, right. Evidence.  
_ Shaking his head he swiped his finger across the screen again, the images came to rest on a boys severed head placed seemingly intentionally next to his body, a look of anguish immortalised in his features.  
"I sure have taken a lot of these"  
He mumbled, green eyes picking over the scene with morbid amazement. Another chuckle slipped through his lips,  
"Even after seeing all this suffering of others I'm still sane..."  
 _...right?  
_ An image caught his eye and Kyle swiped back to a picture he'd taken of a wall decorated with a collage of guts and bone, he remembered blood had still been dripping from under the mess when he'd taken the image.  
"And to think, this was a person once."  
 **Brrrrzzz Brrrrzzzzz  
** The image disappeared and was replaced by an incoming call, but not from a number Kyle recognized, in fact he didn't even know what characters the screen was showing him, they weren't numbers at least.  
 _But I thought there wasn't any signal  
_ A glance at the top corner of his screen confirmed this. Both these factors increased the red-heads curiosity, so, after only a few more seconds hesitation Kyle answered.  
"Hello?"  
Static replied from the other end of the line, hissing quietly into his ear. Kyle frowned, moving to end the call when a voice rose above the static.  
"...-n't..look.."  
"Hello?"  
"Please don't look..."  
The static had quietened, allowing Kyle to realise the voice coming through his speakers belonged to one of his classmates.  
"Butters?! Butters, thank god, where are you?"  
Kyle's eyes lit up at hearing his friend, the sudden burst of joy got him back to his feet, ready to go find wherever Butters was.  
"...don't, don't look at my insides..."  
"Wha-?"  
Kyle froze. He brought the phone away from his ear to discover the picture of the blood covered wall was back. Then the realisation hit him.  
"Butters, oh my god..."  
His hands trembled and Kyle dropped his phone in horror, to his dismay it landed with the screen still facing up. Kyle didn't know if it it was coming from his phone or the hallway the blonde had died in, but Butter's voice still found a way to reach his ears. The pleas drilling into his skull, unable to tear his eyes from the phone screen... Kyle laughed.

...

Clyde's P.O.V

 **Thump Thump  
** "Agh! Shit!"  
Stan Marsh exclaimed, biting back any further obstinacies and clutching his foot.  
"Are you okay?"  
Clyde sympathized. He was feeling increasingly guilty for asking Stan to run around this creepy school with him and stopping by any label for a toilet they came across, but there was no way Clyde was urinating in the open where an assailant could easily get the jump on him. The thought caused the brunette cringe.  
 _Nope. Nope. Don't think about axe murderers. Not right now.  
_ Stan released his shoe,  
"I feel like I've broken my toes"  
He grumbled, curling the end of his trainer and glaring at the door he'd been trying to open. The lock was rusted shut, and if the vice-captain of the soccer team couldn't force it open, Clyde couldn't think of anyone who could. Well, maybe one person.  
"Sorry..."  
"Nah, I'll be fine."  
Stan flashed him a smile, the noirette's expression instantly became a grimace when he noticed sticky fluids of varying colours dripping from his fingers, likely picked up from the bottom of his shoe.  
"Gross"  
"Very"  
Clyde agreed, swallowing down bile whilst trying not to imagine exactly _what_ Stan was wiping onto his trousers. His eyes flickered over the locked bathroom door again, and he immediately wished they hadn't.  
 _Don't wet yourself Clyde, and of all people don't wet yourself in front of Stan Marsh.  
_ Clyde crossed his legs, chewing his lip nervously,  
"H-hey Stan, we should probably keep moving, just in case, y'know."  
The noirette shrugged, taking a couple hesitant steps to test his wounded foot, they didn't appear to be painful, especially when Stan resumed his normal fast paced strides.  
 _If I wasn't here he'd probably be out by now  
_ The thought hit Clyde with another sharp pang of guilt, but it did give him something to dwell on rather than his urgent need to urinate. Distracted by the thought of either of them alone in this hellhole, Clyde walked into Stan when the noirette stopped without warning just before the pair could turn a corner. Looking up Clyde saw why. A little ways down the corridor ahead stood a little girl. Light brown hair framed her pale face and gathered on the shoulders of her green coloured dress, her head was angled to stare at something in the distance, and she was wearing a smile that didn't quite reach her vacant blue eyes. Despite her innocent appearance Clyde couldn't help but feel fear, a suffocating apprehension that something wasn't right about this child. So he more than a little surprised with himself when he followed Stan in taking a few steps towards the girl.  
"Reckon it's one of the ghosts Kyle told us about?"  
Stan spoke, upon hearing a voice the girl very slowly turned to look up at him, the same almost-smile still on her lips. Clyde took a step back, feeling safer cowering behind his classmate, he mumbled to himself,  
"Guess not."  
"What's your name?"  
The tone Stan was using to speak to the child became the condescending, high pitched tone adults think it's appropriate use talking to kids they've just met, or want something from. His classmate bent his knees until he was eye level with the girl,  
"Are you lost too?"  
The girls eyes didn't meet Stans, even as she nodded they continued staring, fixated on a point beyond him.  
"Oh, do you want to come with us then? We're looking for a way out too."  
Upon hearing the offer the girls smile widened, she nodded again, her gaze didn't budge, then Clyde realised what was making him feel so uncomfortable.  
 _She's staring at me!  
_ The moment the child had turned around she hadn't taken her eyes off Clyde for a second, she just kept staring, she hadn't even blinked. When Stan straightened his legs again the girl raised her hand to beckon them forwards, flashing a toothy grin before abruptly turning and walking forwards down the hall. Stan followed without protest.  
 _What's gotten into him?  
_ Clyde pondered, this didn't make sense. Nothing this child was doing made sense. Furthermore she hadn't said a single word so far and that alone was creeping him out. Hesitant, Clyde stood for a few seconds but was quickly overwhelmed by the fear of being left alone and followed in his classmates footsteps. No more than half a minute later they'd reached the end of the hall and were welcomed by a large set of double doors, without missing a beat the girl continued forwards, pushing the right-hand door as soon as she reached it and stepping outside.  
 _She lead us to the exit?  
_ Clyde cocked his head in disbelief, and he was about to mention the convenience to his companion when the sound of rain filled his ears, thin sheets of water were slicing through the air, hitting the ground and trickling from the roof.  
"Goddamit"  
Was all Clyde could bring himself to utter as he was forced squeeze his legs together, biting his lip in concentration. The doors led out to a covered walkway joining two halves of the school, its wooden roof would stop them getting soaked, but at the same time the thin wooden roof amplified the sound of each raindrop running off its surface and made Clyde need to use the bathroom that little bit worse. To distract himself from the constant dripping sounds he focused his attention on the scenery, or more accurately the lack it. The roof of the walkway was held up by various poles and lined on either side with a fence that only just came past his waist. But beyond the little fence Clyde could see an expanse of dead grass, dotted with tall skeletal tree's and shrubs that faded into the fog that was apparently encasing the entire elementary school.  
"They're out here too"  
Clyde heard Stan mumble, the noirette had probably been talking to himself but, curious, Clyde followed his gaze and saw the rigid body of a schoolboy, his mouth now home to a dozen worms, long wet bodies squirming in the boys frozen scream. Swallowing thickly Clyde looked away.  
"Hey, Clyde, why don't you go piss in the bushes out here."  
Evidently Stan had taken notice of Clyde's awkward cross-legged position and made the suggestion, it was a practical one, but the dead boy and his mouth full of worms blocked the only direct path into the bushes. Stan rolled his eyes at his classmate,  
"If anything tries to kill you just yell."  
"Okay then.."  
A couple seconds more hesitation passed, but a light push on his shoulder blade startled Clyde into hopping over the fence. Said bushes were tucked round the corner of the next building, only a short distance from the walkway, but Clyde made a wide arc round the grass in order to avoid the corpse. It was just when he'd left the sight of his classmate the sound of a distant clocks chime reached his ears, and the smell entered his nostrils.  
 **Dong  
Dong  
**The stench was far beyond that of rotting flesh, it curled into Clyde's nostrils and made him wretch, a dizziness circulating his head. Clyde doubled over, dry retching, his stomach desperate to release what wasn't there, his tongue tasted of bile and what he quickly realized was the coppery tang of blood.  
"Give it back..."  
The bushes he was facing rustled, and Clyde looked up the second a red-haired girl staggered from the behind the branches, one bloodied hand outstretched and centimetres from his face. Clyde fell backwards, his lungs emptied into a shrill scream. The girl looked momentarily surprised, her single blue eye blinked at him and her arm dropped to her side.  
"Please... Give it back."  
Barley able to hear, let alone understand her plea, Clyde scuttled backwards on his hands and knees, his gaze fixated on the blood dripping from the wound her eye was supposed to be filling. She took another step forward, her eyebrows twitched with beginnings of anger.  
"Give..."  
Clyde didn't need to hear anymore. Another screech and he was up, half-running half-crawling back to the fence and vaulting over with far more skill than he had ever displayed during gym classes. There was no sign of Stan or the green-clad girl that had led them here. The brunette threw himself at the double doors they'd come from, clawing at the handle to no avail, they were locked tight. A second later he was tugging at the door on the opposite side of the walkway, his cheeks now soaked in tears and rainwater. Calling a garbled version of his classmates name Clyde beat his fists against the clouded glass window in the top half of the door, crying to be let in. In the reflection of the glass he could see a small figure had joined him on the walkway, moving closer with their arms reaching out for something to hold onto. Without warning, the resistance Clyde was being met with disappeared and he found himself tumbling forward into an empty hallway. Not putting much thought into it Clyde spun around and yanked the door shut again, and it was there he sat, back against the door catching his breath. Water dripped from his hair, plopping into the puddle already present around his legs. Clyde glanced down at the puddle, and with a pang of embarrassment a single thought settled in his head.  
 _I don't need to piss anymore_

...

Craig's P.O.V

The cigarette lighter flickered as it was placed near the wick of a candle, the flame quickly curled around the centimetres of string and brightened Craig's surroundings. Crouching beside him, Tweek snapped the lighter shut and placed the burning candle on the floor. The two boys were standing outside a wide, open door, the sign above Craig's head told him it was the infirmary. It stank of disinfectant despite a haggard appearance inside, cupboards full of bottles were on the floor or on their sides and in the flickering light of the candle the thousands of tiny glass shards could have been mistaken for snow, glittering in the moonlight. There was even a massive hole in the infirmary's ceiling through which Craig could see the shadows of another a room.  
 _Is that a sink?  
_ He pondered quietly. Tweek stood and brushed dust from his trousers, Craig tore his eyes from the space in the ceiling to question his classmate,  
"What's the point of this again?"  
It hadn't been fully explained yet why Tweek had decided to seek out a packet of candles, snatch his lighter and stick one down here of all places, besides, neither he nor Tweek needed medical attention.  
 _Yet  
_ The noirette thought a little nervously, the cut on Tweek's neck had since scabbed over, but now they knew what the entities here were capable of, and Craig was scared to admit one of them could very easily be killed here. His fingers tugged at the fraying ribbon on the porcelain doll in his grip, he'd been made to hold the stupid thing while Tweek was lighting the candle.  
"Kenny said we were all stuck in closed spaces, remember?"  
"Duh"  
Craig rolled his eyes, it had been less than half an hour since the blond ghost had abandoned them, and Craig half hoped he wouldn't show up again, there was something about that guy that irritated him. But, he had answers that they needed...  
"Well if we can't meet up with the others we may as well leave something to show we're here, the others should be able to see the candle if they pass the infirmary, maybe it'll make them feel better."  
He finished his explanation, tossing the cigarette lighter over, Craig lazily raised a hand and felt the metal object brushing past the side of his palm, followed by the soft clatter of lighter against floor.  
"Sorry"  
Tweek mumbled whilst Craig was crouching to pick it up, stuffing it back into his pocket with one hand he used the other to push the doll back into his companions arms.  
"Stop being so damn benign and I might forgive you"  
He shook his head, running a hand through dark locks.  
"A-Alright"  
Tweek chuckled,  
"But there was no need to treat Victoria so roughly."  
"Victoria?"  
"The doll, duh"  
Tweek loosened his grip on the toy a bit so he could hold it up, Craig's brows raised.  
"I thought it _belonged_ to a Victoria. Y'know, the killer teacher."  
He waved his hand toward Tweeks pocket, a rolled up newspaper peeping out from his classmates trouser. Upon careful reading of the article on the South Park Elementary murders it was mentioned there was a teacher found in the room with the grade schoolers, a teacher going by 'Miss. Victoria', it didn't mention much else regarding the assumed murderer.  
"Yeah, but she still needs a name"  
The blonde pouted, 'Victoria' once again held firmly against his chest. That was enough to make Craig give in.  
"Victoria it is"  
He smiled, ruffling Tweeks hair and leading them off down the hall, the burning candle providing them some extra light until they turned a corner and had to settle for navigating by moonlight again.  
"Say..."  
Craig started, the sound of footsteps not enough to quell the silence,  
"Where'd you find this shitty spell, Kennys journal right?"  
"Y-yeah"  
 _Again, why do you like that guy?  
_ How Craig vocalised his thoughts was a little different,  
"Bastard, was he _trying_ to get people stuck here?"  
"Of course not! He s-said we must have done it wrong, r-remember?"  
"Sure"  
He growled at Tweek's protest,  
"But that guy gives me a bad feeling."  
Once again silence reigned over the teens.  
"I just found i-it in the b-back of the school library, no way he would have l-left it there if it could hurt somebody"  
Tweeks defense of the other blond was met with more silence, he tilted his head to watch Craig stare stone-faced ahead of them, he tried again.  
"B-besides, it was all dusty. Looked l-like no one had touched it f-for years."  
"Still don't trust him"  
Craig grunted, the explanation for the journal only fueling is distaste for Kenny.  
 _Weird dusty book at the back of a library, sounds shady  
_ Silence.  
"Um"  
Tweeks fingers brushed over the bright ribbon in the dolls hair,  
"Maybe, t-this'll come in handy for g-getting a confession."  
"Maybe"  
Craig glanced down at the pale porcelain face, impressed that Tweek could hug something so creepy looking,  
"Freak looks like it could start talking any minute."  
"S..ry"  
A high pitched female voice floated from nearby, not the sound of a childs voice, it sounded more like if an adult was imitating a young girl. The noirettes head snapped to look at Tweek, his friend looking just as shocked as he felt and wide hazel eyes directed at 'Victoria'.  
"S..o..rry"  
It came again, this time sounding more like a broken sob.  
 **Clink  
** Craig came to a realisation around the same time Tweek let go of the doll, his feet stayed rooted in terror.  
"..So sorry."  
 _It's fucking speaking.  
_ Shocked by the sudden development Craig did the opposite of his frozen classmate, stumbling backwards until he tripped into a wall, distancing himself from the toy and falling against the plaster. Then he kept falling. The wall behind Craig's back was crumbling, wood snapped under his weight and before he'd had time to realise this the noirette was sitting in a self-opened hollow in the wall, surrounded by plaster dust and something unpleasantly damp soaking into his thigh. Glancing downward he spotted a brown paper bag stick out from under his leg, pulling it out he held it closer to his face, the dim light showing the bag was patched in dark red. The same dark red was leaking out from a tear in the base of the paper, thick, cold liquid trickling onto Craig's hand and down his wrist.  
 _"What the fuck?"_  
Craig hissed, dropping the bag and shaking his hand, droplets of blood splattering the nearby décor.  
"Killing the children like that, I wasn't right in my mind.."  
The high pitched doll was making noise again, whatever was behind the eerie porcelain face sounded near tears.  
"I didn't want anyone to die, I was so scared."  
Apparently over the initial shock Tweek leant down to poke the doll closer, staring at it with something unreadable in his eyes,  
"Is t-this, a confession?"  
"Could be..."  
Doll back in hand Tweek hurried to Craig's side, frowning down at him,  
"Are y-you okay? A-agh, did you hurt yourself, you're bleeding!"  
Heaving his way out of the mess the noirettes head shook, sending plaster dust flying into the air,  
"Not my blood"  
He assured his classmate, grabbing the brown paper bag as he stood, by one corner this time to avoided any more mess getting onto him,  
"Came from in here."  
As he raised the bag to inspect it the bottom split, something red dropping out and hit the floorboards with a  
 **Squelch**  
"What the _fuck_!"  
Lying between the two teens feet was a small, but obviously human tongue. Surprisingly unshaken by the body part Tweek plucked the damp bag from Craig's trembling hand, eyes scanning the splotched paper outside until he found what he needed.  
"L-look here, it s-says 'Ike' "  
Craig frowned and squinted at the faded pencil scratches, but Tweek was right,  
"It's _that_ kid again"  
He sighed, the crease along his brow growing deeper,

"The hell is his name doing on an envelope in a _wall_?"  
To respond, Tweek shook his head, unkempt blonde strands bouncing against his cheeks, but as it turned out he didn't need to answer.  
"Give it back"  
A familiar tone demanded, Craig suddenly felt dizzy, his palms breaking into a cold sweat. A slight tilt of his head confirmed his fears, 'Ike', the ghost boy had followed them.  
 _Again!?_  
"Give it back!"  
Ike yelled at them, opening his mouth wide and a small waterfall of blood spilled over his lower lip, spattering the floor as he annunciated each word. Tweek whimpered. By some form of muscle-memory Craig swung his body to stand in front of the blonde boy, fists closed and legs slightly bent at the knee, glaring at the approaching threat.  
"So this is the Ike kid?"  
He growled at neither boy in particular, Ike merely cocked his head and droned those three familiar words,  
"Give it back."  
"Wh-what does h-he-"  
"Give my... my..."  
All three figures in the hallway came to a stop, Tweek still trembled, his fingers laced around the noirettes arm, Craig was vaguely aware of the closeness of his companion but kept his gaze trained on the ghost boy. Ike's head had slumped down, in fact so had the rest of him, appearing to only be on his feet being held up by some unseen force. Silence. Craig waited apprehensively to see if he'd speak again, his fists uncurled and fell to his sides, brows arching into a look of confusion.  
"My..."  
Ever so slowly Ike was raising his head, dark eyes brimming with tears. He felt a twinge of sadness for the child, allowing his guard to drop. Bad idea.  
"Give it back!"  
Another screech filled the small space, the ghost childs face a picture of insanity, barreling towards the high schoolers at inhuman speed. Craig felt pain in his stomach, stumbling to the side he clutched his middle and groaned, it was sure to become another bruise.  
 _If I live that long  
_ Through his momentary dizziness he heard Tweek scream his name, followed by a sound like when you drop a plate or a mug. Hauling himself out of the blurry state he roared towards where he heard his friend, fists flying. Next thing Craig knew he had been forced back against the wall, an invisible force wrapped around his throat. He struggled against the feeling of helplessness, but only seemed to encourage the unseen tendrils curling around his neck to tighten, squeezing out the last bits of oxygen in his windpipe. Craig clawed at his own throat, desperately trying to dislodge what he couldn't touch. No more than a couple of meters away Tweek was fighting his own battle, Craig struggled forwards but as soon as he'd gotten himself away from the wall he was snapped backwards, head smacking into the plaster. His vision swam, oxygen deprivation becoming too much...

 _Shit._

 _..._


End file.
